For decades, scientists and researchers have agreed that attention and ability to retain information is connected to the time of day. Researchers insist that circadian rhythm -- a 24-hour biochemical, psychological and behavior cycle -- dictates our receptiveness to stimuli, meaning that there are times of the day that are better or worse for studying intense cognitive subjects, like math and reading.

Early Research

The understanding that the time of day affects performance began to take scientific form as early as the 1920s, when research found correlations between performance at work and the time of day. Workers tended to be more active and productive in the morning. In the 1970s, the theories were adjusted to reflect more complex knowledge of biology, with biorhythms -- the cycles affecting mental, physical and emotional activity -- understood to span 23 to 33 day periods. Biorhythm dictates receptiveness to outside stimuli, and the understanding of brain pattern responses that developed through the 80s and 90s lead to the conclusion that students are more receptive to reading at a particular time of day.

Better in the Morning?

For decades, teachers held a more-or-less uniform belief that students learned better in the morning. Test scores reflected this, so math and reading were taught before lunch when students were at their most receptive. Studies conducted between the 1970s and late 1980s seemed to confirm that the morning was the appropriate time to teach reading and math, and standard testing was moved to the morning to increase test scores across the United States. But with a better understanding of cognitive science at the turn of the century, these views were refined with an appreciation that math and reading study are cognitively distinct.

Math Versus Reading

Research has further indicated -- and corrected an early misconception -- that students learn math and reading in the same way, and therefore better at the same time of day. Circadian rhythm and biorhythm trigger hormonal responses that impact about 100 different human functions, and they prepare the brain for different types of tasks throughout the day. Academic researchers found that the hormonal responses triggered in early morning were best suited to short-term memory and routine -- math study -- and that the hormonal responses in the afternoon suited long-term memory activities, like reading.

Hybrid Models

By 2004, it was widely understood that afternoon reading classes suited students better, though some researchers noted a spike in the hormones that affect long-term memory just before noon and again between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Test scores have indicated, however, that students perform better with reading tasks toward the end of the school day and math study early in the morning. Some reading-related study, like memorizing spelling or vocabulary, can be useful in the morning, with long-term memory tasks -- like connecting aspects of a story to events in real life -- are more successful in the afternoon.

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About the Author

Living in Canada, Andrew Aarons has been writing professionally since 2003. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Ottawa, where he served as a writer and editor for the university newspaper. Aarons is also a certified computer-support technician.